The following are the measurements in millimetres of five adult specimens
taken in England and Scotland :
Sex Locality Colo»
Head
Body
Ear Tail Hind
Foot
i River Earn, Perth Brownish grey 255 9 13 0 3 2 *
$ Perth . Black above, grey below,
brown spots.
Some 253 9 IIO 3 1
$ Perth . Brownish-black above, brown grey
below, white tip to tail.
240 1 8 I I I 30
? Knepp, Sussex Brownish-grey with reddish
white tip to tail.
tinge, 2 10 8 n o 30
? Forres, Naim Jet black all over . 205 7 10 8 28
* A very large specimen.
The black variety of the Water Vole has long been known to Continental
naturalists, for Pallas found it in Siberia. In Great Britain it was first noticed1
by William MacGillivray, who went so far as to claim specific rank for it. Later,
however, he abandoned this view, and considered it in the position it now occupies,
merely as a variety. When the Scottish naturalist wrote (1830) this dark variety
was supposed to exist only in Scotland, but it was afterwards recorded by the
Rev. L. Jenyns from the fen ditches of Cambridgeshire, where it is still abundant,
as well as by Lubbock in Norfolk. More recently this melanotic variety has
furnished the subject of an excellent paper2 by (the late) Rev. H. A. Macpherson
and Mr. O. V. Aplin, who have carefully summarised and collected notes on its
occurrences in various parts of England and Scotland up to the year 1892. In
summarising their collection of notes the writers say (p. 282):
‘ It will be seen from the statistics thus furnished that this melanotic variety
is rare in England, occurring sporadically in many districts widely distant from
one another, but only well established in the fen country of Norfolk and
Cambridgeshire. On entering Scotland it appears to be very local until we reach
the Trossachs in the west and the watershed of the Tay on the east coast, north
of which it occurs almost as generally as the familiar brown form.’
In most of the English counties this dark variety has been noticed by
competent observers. Macpherson and Aplin give Cumberland, Westmorland,
1 ‘ Description of a Species of Arvicola common in Aberdeenshire,’ Mem. Wem. Nat. Hist. Soc. vi. May i, 1830, p. 425.
2 Zoologist, 1892, pp. 281-293.
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